| PHOTOS: Fire breaks out in busy market in Lagos, Nigeria Posted: 05 Nov 2019 10:42 AM PST  Balogun Market, where the fires erupted, is one of Nigeria's largest textile markets. The Balogun market sprawls across many blocks on Lagos Island. Fires and other disasters are frequent on Lagos Island where the Balogun market is located.
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| Experts: White House has dubious reasons to ignore subpoenas Posted: 04 Nov 2019 03:57 PM PST  The impeachment process is fundamentally unfair. Witnesses should have executive branch lawyers. White House attorneys are throwing out an array of arguments for keeping its officials from cooperating with the congressional impeachment inquiry.
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| Trump leads Warren 49 percent to 27 percent among swing voters, poll shows Posted: 05 Nov 2019 01:04 PM PST ![Trump leads Warren 49 percent to 27 percent among swing voters, poll shows]( "Trump leads Warren 49 percent to 27 percent among swing voters, poll shows") Swing voters are real, The New York Times reports, and they don't seem to be too keen on Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) right now. In a new poll conducted alongside Siena college, the Times found that these swing, or "persuadable," voters -- whose most common attribute is that they're ideologically inconsistent -- represent about 15 percent of the electorate. The voters, a majority of whom are men, have a favorable view of former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), but that's not the case for Warren, the Times reports. Trump trounced Warren among the swing voters in the poll, by a count of 49 percent to 27 percent. In contrast, the president only leads Biden 43 percent to 37 percent. One possible explanation is that Warren is veering too far left for these voters, 80 percent of whom consider themselves either conservative or moderate, meaning it's unlikely they'll head for a ship that's being blown by more progressive winds. Indeed, 82 percent of those surveyed want a candidate whose focused on common ground as opposed to one fighting for a more progressive agenda, which has been a public source of disagreement between Biden, who represents the former, and Warren, who represents the latter.The New York Times Upshot/Siena College poll was conducted among 3,766 voters across the six most competitive states from the 2016 presidential election. The interviews took place over the phone, and the margin of error was 1.7 percentage points. Read more at The New York Times. > Good lord, this whole thing is just brutal for Warren. "They prefer, by 82 percent to 11 percent, one who promises to find common ground over one who promises to fight for a progressive agenda; and they prefer a moderate over a liberal, 75 percent to 19 percent." https://t.co/9Bz6mfHbyT> > -- Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) November 5, 2019
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| Ohio woman killed in attack by her Great Dane dogs, coroner official says Posted: 05 Nov 2019 02:35 AM PST  A Waynesville, Ohio woman's husband reported finding her body mauled by the family's two Great Dane dogs.
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| Greece rescues tourist floating in Aegean Sea for two days Posted: 05 Nov 2019 06:06 AM PST  Greece has rescued a 47-year old woman floating in a rubber dinghy in the Aegean Sea for nearly two days, coastguard officials said on Tuesday. The woman, holidaying on a sailboat near the Greek island of Folegandros, boarded an inflatable boat around midday on Nov. 1 to get supplies. Seven coastguard vessels, three private boats, a plane, and a helicopter were involved in the search operation.
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| US navy prepares allies to 'protect navigation' in Gulf Posted: 05 Nov 2019 04:57 PM PST  The United States is training Gulf allies to "protect navigation" in the region's troubled waterways, as it seeks to build an alliance to contain Iran. Washington's three-week International Maritime Exercise (IMX), which started on October 21, came after a number of commercial vessels were attacked in the Gulf from May, ratcheting up regional tensions. Washington and other Western powers blamed the incidents on Iran, which has denied any involvement.
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| "B-52s for Israel": One Really Bad Idea Posted: 04 Nov 2019 05:30 PM PST  Foreign governments still see the United States as responsible for the damage done by their weapons of war, even when they're sold to third parties.
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| How Cannibal Ants Escaped from a Nuclear Bunker Posted: 04 Nov 2019 01:03 PM PST  We'd see that movie.
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| Rudy Allies Are Spreading Dirt About Bannon Behind the Scenes Posted: 05 Nov 2019 02:25 AM PST  Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/GettyAllies of President Donald Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani are circulating opposition research on Steve Bannon after the former White House strategist questioned Giuliani's work for the president and suggested he should be replaced.In a memo sent unsolicited to The Daily Beast last week, one of those Giuliani allies, a former aide on his 2008 presidential campaign, laid out a series of attacks on Bannon under a header describing him as "THE LATEST FOX IN THE TRUMP HOUSE." It recounted his exit from the White House, his subsequent ouster from Breitbart News, his past criticism of the Trump family, and his affiliation with a controversial Chinese billionaire—with whom the memo suggests Bannon may have a suspect financial relationship."Although Steve Bannon has been parading himself over at Fox News as an ally of President Trump, in reality he has been hitting the president's personal lawyer—the only man standing between the president and Democrats in Congress bloodthirsty for impeachment," the memo states.Bannon Teams Up With Chinese Group That Thinks Trump Will Bring on End-TimesThat memo was sent on the condition of anonymity. But The Daily Beast has since learned that another person involved in crafting and circulating the Bannon attacks is Jennifer Kerns, a conservative pundit and political strategist who was previously a spokesperson for the California Republican Party and the successful 2008 ballot initiative banning gay marriage in the state.The full extent of the anti-Bannon campaign was not immediately clear, but The Daily Beast confirmed that the memo was sent to producers at Fox News last week.Neither Bannon nor Giuliani responded to requests for comment on the memo. The effort comes at a perilous time for President Donald Trump and his allies as Democrats move forward with a House impeachment inquiry and it shows that elements of Trumpworld are preoccupied by internal disputes even as the president is on the verge of being impeached.Sources say the memo was sent without the former New York mayor's knowledge or approval, and multiple plugged-in Trumpworld operatives described the memo as a bizarre and thoroughly unproductive bit of internal squabbling. Two of those sources speculated that Kerns and her fellow Giuliani backer were attempting to ingratiate themselves with Giuliani with an ostentatious public defense.The memo was put together after recent comments from Bannon, in which he questioned Giuliani's erratic and occasionally bizarre statements to the press. "Rudy Giuliani, whom we all admire, and many of us love, looks like he may have gotten over his skis on some of this situation in Ukraine," Bannon said in a mid-October interview. "I think the president's going to have to rethink his legal team."Bannon aimed another barb at Giuliani days later on a new radio show he hosts with Jason Miller, a former senior Trump campaign aide, and Raheem Kassam, a former editor at Breitbart, which Bannon led prior to and immediately after his White House tenure. "We can't do the Rudy thing anymore," Bannon declared on a recent episode of the show, titled War Room. "Too many Ukrainian names, too many moving pieces."Rudy Had a Secret Meeting With Zelensky's Rival, TooKerns and the fellow Giuliani ally took it upon themselves to counter that criticism with a withering broadside against Bannon. "I was responding to the news cycle that Mr. Bannon himself created by speaking with The New York Times for a report on Sunday in which he attacked the president's impeachment strategy, what he viewed as the White House's lack of urgency in dealing with the impeachment inquiry, and the president's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani," Kerns said in an emailed statement. "I felt it was inappropriate for a former adviser to the president to be utilizing such a public, left-leaning forum to air his grievances.""I haven't seen Bannon nor his team attack the president's strategy nor Rudy Giuliani since my notes circulated," Kerns added, "so perhaps the point was taken."The memo, however, is rife with speculation and innuendo, frequently attributing its attacks on Bannon simply to "sources." It accuses Bannon of attempted self-aggrandizement and financial enrichment."Bannon has been out of favor for the last 18 months," the memo says. "Is he looking for a job [and] re-entry into the lucrative [2020] election cycle?"It's not the memo's only allegation regarding Bannon's financial dealings. It cites "two reliable sources" to claim that Bannon has traveled to China seeking financing for a new conservative television network (Bannon recently teamed up with a prominent Chinese dissident group to produce a film critical of the Chinese government). It also accuses Bannon of having "betrayed Trump" by giving interviews to Michael Wolff, the author whose book on the early days of the Trump presidency drew major ire from the White House. The book recounted Bannon's characterization of the infamous Trump Tower meeting between a pair of Russian lawyers and, among others, Donald Trump Jr. and Jared Kushner as "treasonous." The book, Fire and Fury, was widely criticized for a host of factual inaccuracies, but Bannon never denied the reporting on that comment.Bannon's War Room co-hosts don't escape criticism either. The memo recounts details of Miller's ugly custody battle with A.J. Delgado, a former Trump campaign aide who gave birth to Miller's child in 2017. And it goes after Kassam over his departures from Breitbart and the conservative publication Human Events—"some sources say he was forced out of both," the memo claims, offering no additional evidence—and even notes, oddly, that he is "a non-U.S. Citizen who has taken a vested interest in Impeachment."Kassam brushed off the criticism in a text message. "I feel sorry for Mayor Giuliani that he has a bunch of Never-Trumper stans running around using his name to get attention," he wrote. In her statement, Kerns said Kassam "harassed [her] in a profanity-laden text tirade" after she sent the memo to a number of Fox producers. "Any member of our party should be able to defend the president, the president's strategy, the hard work of those in the White House, and the president's personal lawyer without facing profane attack."Kassam denied any such "tirade," but said he was "delighted as ever to take incoming for the MAGA movement against friends of [former Fox host] Megyn Kelly." "Now," he added, "if they'll excuse me I have a war room to run."Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| In last days, al-Baghdadi sought safety in shrinking domain Posted: 05 Nov 2019 09:38 AM PST  In his last months on the run, Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was agitated, fearful of traitors, sometimes disguised as a shepherd, sometimes hiding underground, always dependent on a shrinking circle of confidants. Associates paint a picture of a man obsessed with his security and well-being and trying to find safety in towns and deserts in eastern Syria near the Iraqi border as the extremists' domains crumbled. In the end, the brutal leader once hailed as "caliph" left former IS areas completely, slipping into hostile territory in Syria's northwestern Idlib province run by the radical group's al-Qaida-linked rivals.
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| A Chinese pilot was suspended over a viral photo of a woman posing and flashing a V-sign in his cockpit during a flight Posted: 05 Nov 2019 07:31 AM PST  The unidentified woman is seen sitting in the captain's seat with drinks in front of her on an Air Guilin flight in January this year.
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| 2 inmates escape California jail through hole in ceiling Posted: 05 Nov 2019 01:24 PM PST  Officials say two inmates accused of murder escaped a California jail over the weekend through a hole they made in a bathroom ceiling that's in a blind spot from the guards.
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| U.S. border patrol officer kills suspected undocumented immigrant Posted: 04 Nov 2019 11:20 PM PST  The Customs and Border Protection officers were investigating in an area close to the border between the United States and Mexico, which is when they encountered the suspect and chased him on foot, the New Mexican state police said in a statement posted online. "At some point during the chase, the suspect fired a weapon at the two border patrol agents," officials said. New Mexico State Police are investigating the case.
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| View Photos of the 2020 Nissan Altima AWD and 2020 Subaru Legacy Posted: 05 Nov 2019 10:58 AM PST |
| Over 11,000 scientists around the world declare a 'climate emergency' Posted: 05 Nov 2019 01:33 PM PST ![Over 11,000 scientists around the world declare a 'climate emergency']( "Over 11,000 scientists around the world declare a 'climate emergency'") "Scientists have a moral obligation to warn humanity of any great threat....From the data we have, it is clear we are facing a climate emergency."
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| Afghan chief executive slams president's 'wishlist' peace plan Posted: 05 Nov 2019 06:47 AM PST  Afghanistan's Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah dismissed Tuesday a new peace proposal by his election rival President Ashraf Ghani as an unrealistic "wishlist", and again questioned the validity of thousands of votes from recent polls. US President Donald Trump in September ended year-long talks with the Taliban amid ongoing insurgent violence, leaving Afghans wondering what comes next in the gruelling conflict. Ghani's team last month released a seven-point proposal meant to build on those talks and bring an end to Afghanistan's 18-year-old war with the Taliban.
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| View Photos of the 2020 BMW 8-series Posted: 05 Nov 2019 09:35 AM PST |
| Republicans break with Trump and Rand on whistleblower unmasking Posted: 05 Nov 2019 10:47 AM PST  Standing next to President Trump on Monday night, Sen. Rand Paul called for the media to unmask the Ukraine whistleblower and was cheered by rallygoers in Kentucky.
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| Trump's obsession with conspiracy theories is helping trap him in the impeachment investigation Posted: 05 Nov 2019 01:29 PM PST  Former US special envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker said Trump endorsed a baseless theory that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 election to hurt him.
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| Germany's Merkel: Discontent doesn't bring 'right to hatred' Posted: 05 Nov 2019 06:17 AM PST  Chancellor Angela Merkel says that disillusionment and discontent with the German government don't give people any "right to hatred," an allusion to a far-right party's strong recent election performance in eastern Germany. Alternative for Germany, or AfD, has polled over 20% and finished second in state elections in Saxony, Brandenburg and Thuringia in the past two months. Asked about those election performances, Merkel acknowledged in an interview with Der Spiegel magazine published Tuesday that some people and regions in eastern Germany haven't had it easy.
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| India says supports FTA talks with EU after refusing to join China-led accord Posted: 05 Nov 2019 05:07 AM PST ![India says supports FTA talks with EU after refusing to join China-led accord]( "India says supports FTA talks with EU after refusing to join China-led accord") India should hold talks with the European Union for a free trade agreement, the government said on Tuesday, a day after it refused to join a China-backed regional trade pact for fear of a flood of cheap Chinese imports. Trade Minister Piyush Goyal said sectors such as gems, textiles and agriculture have pushed for a trade pact with the EU. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has also called for talks to restart to finalise an agreement.
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| More than a hundred years ago, Mormons — including Mitt Romney’s family — fled to Mexico so they could practice polygamy. They’ve been plagued by cartel violence, infighting, and murder ever since. Posted: 05 Nov 2019 12:50 PM PST  The victims, all women and children, were members of La Mora, a Mormon settlement in the Sonora state founded as an offshoot of the Mormon church.
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| The Trump Organization reportedly can't get anyone to fill retail space in its Chicago hotel Posted: 05 Nov 2019 02:28 PM PST ![The Trump Organization reportedly can't get anyone to fill retail space in its Chicago hotel]( "The Trump Organization reportedly can't get anyone to fill retail space in its Chicago hotel") Any takers?Apparently not for the Trump Organization, which can't seem to find anyone to fill the street-level retail space at the Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago, The Washington Post reports.The hotel has reportedly been struggling on several fronts during Trump's presidency, with profits reportedly falling 89 percent between 2015 and 2018, but the vacant space is a stark reminder. The Post obtained documents the company filed with Cook County tax assessors showing how difficult it's been to fill the void, which is reportedly equivalent to the size of two Whole Foods stores.A firm hired by the Trump Organization to find tenants told the county it had reached out to 81 potential businesses across various industries, but no one said yes, the documents revealed.The Trump Organization had previously argued that the hotel's struggles were related to crime in Chicago, but that's probably not the case since the hotel's competitors have actually seen increases in room revenue. The Post reports that the company's lawyers told the county that they believed the hotel is "suffering from unfair political backlash" as a result of Trump's presidency. Read more at The Washington Post.
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| New Research Suggests the Universe May Be a Giant Loop Posted: 05 Nov 2019 11:15 AM PST  New research suggests our universe may actually be a closed loop instead of a never-ending expanse, but the theory has drawn criticism from other cosmologists.
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| Chevy and Carhartt Go to Work on 2021 Silverado HD Special Edition Posted: 04 Nov 2019 01:29 PM PST  Two Detroit companies that make hard work look good, Chevrolet and work-clothing maker Carhartt, reveal a ruggedly handsome Silverado pickup that you can buy next fall.
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| Far-right leader and Washington officers face civil rights lawsuit over violent incident Posted: 04 Nov 2019 11:00 PM PST  State officers collaborated with Patriot Prayer members and leader Joey Gibson in illegal arrest of man on college campus, suit allegesRightwing group Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson speaks during a rally in support of free speech in Berkeley, California, in April 2017. Photograph: Marcio Jose Sanchez/APFar-right leader Joey Gibson, several current and former associates and three Washington state patrol (WSP) police officers are facing a civil rights lawsuit over a violent confrontation at Evergreen State College on 15 June 2017.Gibson is the leader of the rightwing activist group Patriot Prayer and the suit is one of a proliferating set of legal efforts associated with Gibson's activities in Oregon and Washington throughout the Trump era.The violent incident, which was captured on several videos made by Gibson associates, took place during a rally staged by Patriot Prayer in support of Professor Bret Weinstein, who was at the center of national controversy over his opposition to a day of absence for white staff and students at the college.The suit has been brought by Washington state civil rights lawyer Larry Hildes on behalf of his client, Joseph Robinson. It alleges WSP officers collaborated with Patriot Prayer members in the illegal arrest and detention of Robinson at the College.In a phone conversation, Hildes said that the aim of the suit was to "get the state patrol reined in" and to encourage policy changes. In relation to Patriot Prayer, Hildes said: "I want to shut them down.""I want them out of business," Hildes said of the far-right protest group. "I want them out of existence as an entity."Patriot Prayer's incursion on to the campus on a rainy afternoon was counter-protested by anti-fascist activists, students and staff. Over a number of hours, Patriot Prayer and anti-fascists exchanged blows and pepper spray. Gibson and others were covered in silly string by antifascists, and Gibson at one point sustained a facial wound.A large number of WSP riot police struggled to contain the melee.The suit focuses on one incident in which it alleges WSP and rightwing demonstrators collaborated in violating Robinson's civil rights when he was allegedly grabbed by Patriot Prayers members at the direction of Gibson, and then handed to the police, who arrested him "without asking any questions".Video of the incident shot by Gibson-aligned videographer Robert Zerfing shows Robinson being dragged by the neck with a bandana he had been wearing as a mask. After Robinson was arrested, he was jailed and charged with disorderly conduct. A criminal case was pursued against him for 11 months before being dropped by the Thurston county prosecutor.Hildes's complaint alleges that WSP's posture effectively "authorized Patriot Prayer" to make arrests.The suit is one of many arising from Gibson's street protests, and his conflicts with leftists in Washington and Oregon.Contacted by phone, Gibson said he had not previously heard about the suit. Asked generally about the range of legal actions and prosecutions against him, Gibson said: "They're just trying to silence me. We've just got to push through."A WSP spokesman said via email that "it would be unfair to all concerned to comment on until resolved in court".Gibson and other associates are also defendants in a suit brought by Cider Riot, a Portland cidery popular with the city's radical left that was the center of a violent brawl in May this year, after Gibson and his associates made their way there, some armed with bricks, batons and chemical weapons.The cidery's owner, Abram Goldman-Armstrong, is seeking $1m from Gibson and his co-defendants.
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| Some US troops guarding oil fields in Syria are reportedly still waiting for military orders — including when and how they could attack the enemy Posted: 05 Nov 2019 06:51 AM PST  The confusion wrought from the abrupt military repositioning also comes shortly after artillery rounds landed near US troops.
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| Islamists vow to continue Pakistan protest after PM refuses to resign Posted: 04 Nov 2019 09:36 AM PST  A Pakistani Islamist leader who led thousands of supporters into the capital and demanded Imran Khan's resignation vowed to continue his protest Monday, after the prime minister ignored his 48-hour deadline. Maulana Fazlur Rehman, a firebrand cleric who heads one of the country's largest Islamist parties, has accused Khan of taking power last year with the help of the military, which has ruled Pakistan for roughly half its history. Khan and the military have denied the accusations, which have swirled since the July 2018 election.
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| US envoy calls EU decision on Balkans 'historic mistake' Posted: 04 Nov 2019 04:18 AM PST  A U.S. envoy for the Western Balkans on Monday described European Union's decision not to open membership talks with North Macedonia and Albania as a "historic mistake" that sends a bad message to the region. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Palmer said the U.S. will do all it can to persuade the EU to reverse the decision before a planned leaders' meeting in May in Croatia. "America wants the Western Balkans to have a European perspective," Palmer said after talks in Belgrade with Serbia's president, Aleksandar Vucic.
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| By 2025, China Could Have TWO Stealth Bombers Posted: 05 Nov 2019 12:00 AM PST  A report from the DIA sheds light on Chinese military developments.
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| Two Maryland men got into a fight over a Popeyes chicken sandwich. One of them was stabbed to death, police say Posted: 05 Nov 2019 07:23 AM PST  A 28-year-old man in Maryland was stabbed to death on Monday night in a fight "related to the release" of Popeyes chicken sandwich, police said.
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| NYC ships homeless people across the country, new report claims Posted: 05 Nov 2019 08:52 AM PST  More than 12,000 homeless people in New York City were sent to live across the country in 32 states and Puerto Rico as part of a "special one-time assistance program," according to a new report.
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| Buffalo Wild Wings fires workers allegedly involved in racist incident Posted: 03 Nov 2019 09:06 PM PST  Multi-racial group of 18 in Naperville, Illinois eatery was allegedly asked to move tables to get farther from frequent diner who was "racist"
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| Adam Schiff, a Trump Punching Bag, Takes His Case to a Bigger Ring Posted: 04 Nov 2019 05:01 AM PST  LOS ANGELES -- The crowd was buzzing with Hollywood types -- actress Patricia Arquette, producer Norman Lear -- at a private film screening on Sunset Boulevard one recent Sunday afternoon. But here in liberal America, the biggest celebrity in the room was not someone who makes a living in what people call "the industry."It was Rep. Adam Schiff, the straight-laced former federal prosecutor who was on the brink of prosecuting his biggest defendant yet: President Donald Trump.These are heady but perilous days for Schiff, the inscrutable and slightly nerdy chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, who is leading the impeachment inquiry into Trump. Adored by the left, reviled by the right, he has become a Rorschach test for U.S. politics. Depending on one's point of view, he is either going to save the republic or destroy it.Here in his home district, at the screening of "The Great Hack," a film about misinformation in the 2016 election, Lear introduced Schiff as a "current American hero." As the audience leapt to its feet in a standing ovation, the congressman emerged from backstage in standard Washington uniform -- navy blazer, white shirt, light blue tie -- his manner as inoffensive as his attire."We thank them for their patriotism," Schiff said somberly, praising whistleblowers, including the anonymous one whose complaint against Trump prompted the impeachment inquiry, "and we hope others will follow their courageous example."Now Schiff, 59, is poised to take a much bigger stage as his inquiry moves from a secure office suite in a Capitol Hill basement into nationally televised public hearings. He will make the case against Trump to a divided nation, in what amounts to an epic courtroom drama meant to unveil evidence of the president's pressure campaign to enlist Ukraine to smear his political rivals -- a moment that is bound to be must-watch TV.At home in his district, which stretches from West Hollywood to Pasadena and north to the San Gabriel Mountains, Schiff is well acquainted with the celebrity lifestyle.He lives with his wife, Eve (yes, Adam and Eve), and their two children in suburban Maryland, but they also have an apartment in Burbank, home to Walt Disney Studios. He favors vegan Chinese food and drives an Audi whose license plate frame bears a line from the movie "The Big Lebowski" ("I don't roll on Shabbos"), from which he can quote at length. He has dabbled at screenwriting, once drafting a script that featured a prosecutor as the hero. He tried stand-up comedy, too, during a fundraiser at the Improv in Hollywood."He did a whole riff on being a nihilist," said one of his best friends, former congressman Steve Israel, who joined him onstage. "Basically, we got told to stick to our day jobs."But if Schiff has a sense of humor (his friends insist he does have a dry one), he rarely shows it in Washington, where he has carefully cultivated his image as the stylistic and substantive opposite of Trump: calm, measured, reserved and brainy.He makes no secret of his disdain for the president, who refers to him as "Little Pencil Neck" or "Shifty Schiff" when he is not replacing the congressman's surname with a similar-sounding expletive. In an interview, Schiff called Trump a "grave risk to our democracy" who is conducting an "amoral presidency" and has debased his office with "infantile" insults."What comes through in the president's comments and his tweets and his outrage and his anger toward me in particular is, this president feels he has a God-given right to abuse his office in any way he sees fit," Schiff said.Trump and his allies, sensing the threat posed by Schiff's inquiry and divided over how to defend the president against damning testimony, have united in trying to undermine the congressman's credibility. They sought unsuccessfully to have the House censure him and have accused him of running a "Soviet-style impeachment inquiry."On Saturday, Trump proclaimed him "a corrupt politician" on Twitter and claimed that if Schiff "is allowed to release transcripts of the Never Trumpers & others that are & were interviewed, he will change the words that were said to suit the Dems purposes."Republicans who work side by side with him on the Intelligence Committee contend that he has changed as his star has risen alongside Trump's. A figure they once saw as a serious and studious policy wonk they now describe in viscerally negative terms, as a liar and a hypocrite who will stop at nothing to oust a duly elected president.Schiff has an "absolute maniacal focus on Donald Trump" said one committee Republican, Rep. Michael Turner of Ohio, who accused Schiff of routinely lying to the press and the public about what happened in private interviews and conducting the inquiry's initial hearings out of public view so he and other Democrats could distort the findings.And Schiff has let the publicity go to his head, Turner said: "Schiff finds the media intoxicating. And he is pretty much willing to do whatever it takes to get to the top of the media cycle."Schiff has made some missteps. His dramatized description of the president's phone call with the leader of Ukraine drew attacks from the president and Republican lawmakers, who said he was fabricating evidence -- and surprised even a close friend, Alice Hill, who knows the congressman from their days as young prosecutors in Los Angeles."I was a bit surprised because he is reserved and not prone to overstatement, very careful with his words, very careful with the facts and keeping to the facts," she said, adding, "It felt out of character."And Schiff's assertion that he had not had any contact with the whistleblower who incited the inquiry drew a "false" rating from The Washington Post; the whistleblower had approached his panel for guidance before filing his complaint. Schiff conceded he "should have been much more clear" about that.Democrats, who are united behind Schiff, counter that the attacks are opportunistic; Republicans, they said, are attacking Schiff over process because they cannot defend the president on the merits of his behavior.There is little room for error as Schiff pushes the inquiry forward in the coming months. His performance could determine not only Trump's future but also his own. Schiff is a close ally of Speaker Nancy Pelosi and viewed by some as her possible successor. At a recent news conference, Pelosi -- not ordinarily one to cede control -- took the rare step of sitting with reporters to watch admiringly as the congressman spoke."He's a full package," Pelosi said in an interview, praising Schiff as "always gracious, always lovely." She added, "He knows his purpose, and his purpose is not to engage in that silliness that the president is engaged in."A lawyer educated at Stanford University and Harvard Law School, Schiff tried his first big case three decades ago when, as a young federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, he secured the conviction of an FBI agent who was seduced by a Soviet spy and traded secrets for gold and cash. In 1996, he won a seat in the California Senate; in 2000, he was elected to the House by beating a Republican who had been a manager in the impeachment of President Bill Clinton.In Washington, Schiff joined the Blue Dogs, a group of conservative Democrats, and made a name for himself as a national security expert. He joined the Intelligence Committee in 2008 -- drawn to it, Israel said, because he viewed it as "a quiet place for bipartisanship."His breakout moment came in 2014, when the Republican-led House established a committee to investigate attacks on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya. Schiff had argued that Democrats should not participate in what he viewed as a partisan exercise, but Pelosi put him on the committee.But it was the election of Trump that elevated Schiff's profile and made him a sought-after speaker and fundraiser in Democratic circles. As the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee last term, when Republicans still had the majority, he vigorously investigated Russian election interference and questions around whether the Trump campaign had conspired with hostile foreign actors, becoming the most recognizable public face explaining the biggest story in Washington on national TV. When Democrats won the majority in the House, he helped Pelosi draft an investigative strategy.Schiff was a late convert to the impeachment push; like Pelosi, he held back until revelations about Ukraine emerged. For the last five weeks, he has spent much of his time in a secure room four floors below the Capitol, overseeing the closed-door questioning of witnesses. He opens each witness interview and sometimes steps in to conduct questioning himself."The American people have a right to know -- they have a need to know -- how deep this misconduct goes," he said, adding, "There's no hiding the president's hand in any of this."These days, Schiff has tried to tightly control his public profile. He goes on television less than he used to and zips wordlessly through the Capitol, trailed by a phalanx of aides and a scrum of journalists, smiling wanly as they pepper him with questions.It has all given him "a new appreciation" of the struggles his celebrity constituents face in maintaining their privacy, he said. And he is well aware that, out there in the rest of the U.S., he has become a polarizing figure."I feel I've become kind of a human focus group," he said during a panel discussion after the screening here. "People will stop me in the airport in close succession. One will come up to me and say, 'Are you Adam Schiff? I just want to shake your hand -- you're my hero,' immediately to be followed by someone else who says, 'Why are you destroying our democracy?' "The congressman paused and concluded that both couldn't be right "because last time I checked, I'm the same person."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2019 The New York Times Company
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| Nigeria puts squeeze on oil majors as upends deals Posted: 04 Nov 2019 10:34 AM PST  Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday signed a measure to change the country's agreements with multinational oil companies to significantly increase the share of offshore oil revenue it takes. "This afternoon I assented to the bill amending the Deep Offshore (and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contract) Act," Buhari said in a statement on Twitter. "Nigeria will now receive its fair, rightful and equitable share of income from our own natural resources for the first time since 2003," he added.
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| U.S. targets Iranian top leader's inner circle with new sanctions Posted: 04 Nov 2019 08:45 AM PST  The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on nine people close to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, including his chief of staff, one of his sons and the head of the judiciary. Coinciding with the 40th anniversary of Iran's seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehran, the U.S. Treasury Department said it also was blacklisting Iran's Armed Forces General Staff. "Today the Treasury Department is targeting the unelected officials who surround Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, and implement his destabilizing policies," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.
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| The U.S. Army’s Megabase in South Korea is a ‘Fat Target’ for North Korea Posted: 04 Nov 2019 11:57 AM PST  A multi-billion-dollar plan to move thousands of U.S. troops farther from the Korean demilitarized zone in order to get them out of firing range of North Korean artillery appears to have failed. At the same time that the Americans are moving onto their new base, the North Koreans have been testing a longer-range rocket that can hit the facility.
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| John Demjanjuk: The incredible story of US autoworker accused of being Nazi death camp criminal Ivan the Terrible Posted: 05 Nov 2019 09:03 AM PST  In the tight-knit Ukrainian community of Cleveland, John Demjanjuk was known as a church-going family man.He worked hard at the city's Ford motor plant for more than 20 years and had three children. He was quiet, it was said, but friendly.
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| Georgia high court declines to hear condemned man's appeal Posted: 05 Nov 2019 01:58 PM PST  After temporarily halting an execution last week, the Georgia Supreme Court declined on Tuesday to hear a condemned man's appeal or block a new plan to give him a lethal injection next week. Ray Jefferson Cromartie, 52, is scheduled to be put to death Nov. 13 at the state prison in Jackson. The state says Cromartie also shot and seriously injured another convenience store clerk a few days earlier.
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| Apple will donate $2.5 billion to fight 'unsustainable' California housing crisis Posted: 04 Nov 2019 09:31 AM PST  Apple CEO Tim Cook says the company's donation is meant to help first-time home buyers, expand housing, and combat homelessness in Silicon Valley.
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| Indian capital Delhi diverts flights and restricts cars as millions endure 'eye-burning' smog Posted: 04 Nov 2019 10:00 AM PST  An emergency measure banning half of Delhi's private vehicles from the road was introduced on Monday to combat the city's air pollution, which has risen to more than 20 times the safe limit. As smog levels grew - making it three times worse than in Beijing - authorities also parked a van with an air purifier near the Taj Mahal 250 kilometres (150 miles) away in a bid to clean the surrounding air. The level of particulates measuring less than 2.5 microns was over 700 micrograms per cubic metre of air on Monday morning, according to the Air Quality Index (AQI). The World Health Organisation's safe daily maximum is just 25. Health officials have instructed Delhi's 29-million population to stay inside as a reading of over 500 can cause serious aggravation of heart and lung diseases. The BLK Hospital reported a 300 per cent increase in admissions from respiratory problems since Saturday, with children suffering particularly badly with the toxic air. The toxic smog is visible over the old quarter of Delhi Credit: Javed Sultan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Schools are expected to stay shut in Delhi until next week. "Air pollution of such magnitude has left children gasping for breath," said Jarnail Singh, director of The Climate Group, a climate change NGO. "It causes headaches in children which were previously unheard of, burning eyes and regular breathing discomfort." Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi's chief minister, described the city as a 'gas chamber' on Friday. He tweeted: "Delhi has turned into a gas chamber due to smoke from crop burning in neighbouring states" and urged citizens to use face masks. On Monday he introduced the policy to ban even and odd-numbered privately-registered vehicles from the roads on alternate days until November 15. It will keep an estimated 1.2 million vehicles off the road. Delhi has failed to control worsening levels of air pollution in recent years and was named by AQI as the most polluted capital city in the world in 2018. AQI has estimated Delhites will have a shortened life expectancy of over a decade due to the toxic air they breathe. The government will distribute pollution masks to all Delhi school students Credit: RAJAT GUPTA/EPA-EFE/REX The seasonal burning of crop stubble by farmers in the neighbouring states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and the Punjab is a major contributor to the high pollution at this time of year. Farmers believe burning stubble increases the fertility of their land, but it releases a toxic cocktail of particulates such as sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide into the air. Vehicle and industrial emissions, as well as the large number of Diwali fireworks set off last week, also cause air quality to deteriorate. The end of the Monsoon rains in October means the polluted air doesn't clear. A man wearing a pollution mask sweeps a street with a broom in the old quarters of New Delhi Credit: LAURENE BECQUART/AFP via Getty Images The Indian Supreme Court on Monday ordered Mr Kejriwal to show how the car rationing system works, describing it as a 'gimmick' as it doesn't apply to motorbikes or taxis. It also demanded state governments in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and the Punjab eradicate stubble burning. Activists urged politicians to prioritise the threat posed by air pollution. "The Delhi government, neighbouring states and national government can't run away from their duties and must stop passing the dice," said Chittranjan Dubey, Head of Extinction Rebellion in South Asia. Over 30 flights have so far been diverted from Indira Gandhi International Airport as the thick smog means planes cannot land safely. Protect yourself and your family by learning more about Global Health Security
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| Source for ‘Ukraine Collusion’ Allegations Met Devin Nunes Posted: 05 Nov 2019 02:26 AM PST  Mark Wilson/GettyThe former Ukrainian diplomat at the center of allegations that Kyiv meddled in the 2016 election has met Rep. Devin Nunes, the California firebrand who is one of President Trump's top defenders. The revelation indicates that Andrii Telizhenko's connections in Washington are wider than previously known. Rudy Giuliani, Trump's personal lawyer, has enthusiastically promoted Telizhenko's allegations and met with him extensively. And Trump has touted his claims. "Congressman Nunes had a really interesting and good impact on me as a very positive and influential politician who loves America and is interested in Ukraine and developments on fighting Russia," Telizhenko told The Daily Beast. "We talked about how to fight Russian aggression in Ukraine and Russian propaganda." The previously unreported conversation is the only known encounter between two of the more significant figures in the story of Trump's relationships with Russia and Ukraine. Nunes' office did not respond to a request for comment on this story.Telizhenko worked at Kyiv's embassy in Washington from December 2015 through June 2016, according to a copy of his C.V. that he shared with The Daily Beast. And he has played a key role in the promotion of the contentious narrative, popular on the political right, that the Ukrainian government worked with Democrats during the 2016 campaign to damage Trump.Politico first reported in January 2017 on alleged efforts by Ukraine's Washington embassy to find and dole out dirt about Paul Manafort, who was Trump's campaign chairman for several months and is now serving a prison sentence for financial crimes unrelated to the 2016 election. 'Traitor!': Disheveled Paul Manafort Assailed at Hearing for 16 New ChargesIn Politico's story, former DNC consultant Alexandra Chalupa and then-deputy chief of mission Oksana Shulyar both denied any inappropriate moves related to Manafort. Telizhenko, however, went on the record to say Shulyar directed him to share any relevant information with Chalupa. "They were coordinating an investigation with the Hillary team on Paul Manafort with Alexandra Chalupa," he said at the time. The allegation reverberated through conservative media. And while most coverage of election interference in early 2017 focused on the Kremlin's well-funded operation to hack emails and spread disinformation over Facebook and Twitter, Telizhenko's allegations about Ukraine found an eager audience among the president's staunch supporters. A BuzzFeed story published earlier this week tracked Telizhenko's reach through conservative media—including an appearance on the conspiracy site InfoWars—and called him "a bespoke purveyor of conspiracy theories."Since going public, Telizhenko has helped Giuliani try to investigate matters related to American politics and Ukraine. Telizhenko told NBC earlier this week that the two met earlier this year and have become friends. His allegations have also drawn the attention of congressional Republicans defending Trump in the impeachment inquiry; a newly released transcript shows a Republican staffer who questioned former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch as part of the inquiry asked her if she was familiar with the story. The staffer also said the issue could damage the relationship between the two countries. "I think most Americans believe that there shouldn't be meddling in our elections," she said. "And if Ukraine is the one that had been meddling in our elections, I think that the support that all of you have provided to Ukraine over the last almost 30 years, I don't know that—I think people would ask themselves questions about that."Telizhenko met Nunes at a housewarming party in May of this year, he told The Daily Beast. The two chatted for about 15 minutes, he said, and didn't follow up after the party. "We had an interesting conversation," he said. "He's well aware on Ukraine politics and from what I understood, he's a true patriot in the United States. And that's how I saw it. It was interesting for me to meet him." Since their conversation, Nunes has touted claims that originated with Telizhenko. On Sept. 24, he tweeted out an article by John Solomon at The Hill arguing that Democrats have pressured Ukraine to meddle in American politics. The story quoted Telizhenko. A few weeks later, the congressman tweeted out another story highlighting claims that the Ukrainian embassy colluded with the DNC. Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Poland charges two with animal abuse over 'nightmare' tiger trip Posted: 04 Nov 2019 07:26 AM PST  Polish prosecutors said Monday they have charged two Italian truck drivers with animal abuse after the men took 10 tigers on a gruelling journey through Europe that left one tiger dead and the others "emaciated" and "without the will to live". The trip is believed to have been organised by Russian citizen Vakhitov F., whom prosecutors charged with animal abuse last week after the truck got stuck for days on the border with Belarus after setting off from Italy on October 22. The nine tigers that survived the journey were taken in by two Polish zoos last week.
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